F-35s back in action

Published: Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 02:04 PM.

EGLIN AFB — After being grounded for a little over three weeks, F-35 fighter jets have returned to the skies over Northwest Florida.

The Marines and Navy began flying their versions of the jet on Wednesday and the Air Force took off on Thursday.

The jets stopped flying June 23 after one of the Air Force variants caught fire during takeoff on a runway at Eglin Air Force Base. No one was injured, but the plane was severely damaged.

Several days after the fire, the military suspended F-35 flights across the country.

Earlier this week, defense officials said the cause of the fire appeared to be excessive rubbing of the fan blades in the engine. According to preliminary results from a safety investigation, the problem was not systemic.

On Monday, the Department of Defense gave clearance for the jets to resume flying, with some restrictions.

The F-35s are limited to a maximum speed of Mach 0.9 and 19 degrees of angle of attack and are allowed to go only from minus 1 G to 3 Gs. After three hours in the air, the front fan section of each engine has to be inspected.

Officials said that shouldn’t be a problem for the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin, which is responsible for training pilots and maintainers to operate the military’s newest fighter jet.

The wing has stayed busy since the flight line mishap last month, preparing manuals for how the jets will be used in combat and staying current on their flight training hours using their high-tech simulators.

Since receiving word that they would soon be cleared for flight, the wing, which houses 49 F-35s, has been ready to get back in the air.

“We’ve been primed and ready, we were just waiting for the word ‘go’,” said Air Force Lt. Hope Cronin, a spokeswoman for the wing.

EGLIN AFB — After being grounded for a little over three weeks, F-35 fighter jets have returned to the skies over Northwest Florida.

The Marines and Navy began flying their versions of the jet on Wednesday and the Air Force took off on Thursday.

The jets stopped flying June 23 after one of the Air Force variants caught fire during takeoff on a runway at Eglin Air Force Base. No one was injured, but the plane was severely damaged.

Several days after the fire, the military suspended F-35 flights across the country.

Earlier this week, defense officials said the cause of the fire appeared to be excessive rubbing of the fan blades in the engine. According to preliminary results from a safety investigation, the problem was not systemic.

On Monday, the Department of Defense gave clearance for the jets to resume flying, with some restrictions.

The F-35s are limited to a maximum speed of Mach 0.9 and 19 degrees of angle of attack and are allowed to go only from minus 1 G to 3 Gs. After three hours in the air, the front fan section of each engine has to be inspected.

Officials said that shouldn’t be a problem for the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin, which is responsible for training pilots and maintainers to operate the military’s newest fighter jet.

The wing has stayed busy since the flight line mishap last month, preparing manuals for how the jets will be used in combat and staying current on their flight training hours using their high-tech simulators.

Since receiving word that they would soon be cleared for flight, the wing, which houses 49 F-35s, has been ready to get back in the air.

“We’ve been primed and ready, we were just waiting for the word ‘go’,” said Air Force Lt. Hope Cronin, a spokeswoman for the wing.